The zodiac queen, p.23
The Zodiac Queen, page 23
“You have to know,” he pauses, voice cracking, “I’d never do anything to hurt you. Do you believe me?”
“Yes.” Any doubt I once harbored about his intentions are gone—not when every part of my soul screams that he loves me. Same as Sebastian. My gut tells me I can trust my life in either of their hands.
“Then I need you to walk down there with me and follow my lead, okay?”
“W-why?”
“I don’t have time to explain.” He caresses my cheek, and on some unconscious level, I lean into his touch. “Can you do this for me?”
Swallowing hard, I nod, and he entwines our hands before resuming the nerve-wracking journey to the darkest trenches of the tower. After opening the heavy iron gate to the dungeon, Liam urges me forward.
Pax is waiting in the middle of the room, in the very spot where he tortured Sebastian five days ago. I can almost envision the drops of blood on the floor, though someone has since cleaned the area. His smile appears more sinister than usual, maybe because he’s standing naked from the waist up with his feet bare.
Like he’s ready to play.
“Took you long enough,” he tells Liam.
The chancellor presses his hand on my back, forcing me closer. “Your month hasn’t even started yet, so I wouldn’t get worked up over a few minutes.”
Pax grabs me by the arm, and as he pushes me to my knees, my whole body quakes apart. I watch the keeper of the dungeon remove a chained collar from a rack on the wall, and my teeth chatter from terror. Liam settles a comforting hand on my head, his palm smoothing down the back of my skull.
It’s a subtle reminder to have faith in him, and it’s enough that I’m able to catch my breath.
“You can leave now, Chancellor,” Pax says, his bare feet bringing him back to where I’m kneeling on the cold, hard floor. That collar captures my focus, stretched between his brutal hands.
Liam steps to the side, allowing Pax access to me. The monster leans over, his attention on fastening the collar around my neck, and that’s when everything changes. Liam reaches into his pocket, and I spy a flash of a needle, followed by Pax’s huge gray eyes as he slumps to the floor in front of me.
“What the—?” He casts a questioning glance at Liam before his eyes roll back in his head. A nudge of Liam’s shoe to the prone figure on the floor confirms what I already know.
Pax is out cold.
“Wh-what did…what did you do?” My voice is foreign to me in that moment, constricted by shock and confusion and a dizzying amount of fear as I meet Liam’s gaze.
Without answering, he pulls me to my feet, and the collar drops to the floor, Pax never having the chance to secure it around my neck. Liam drags me toward the back room where the summons took place.
“Wait, please!” I yank on his hold, trying to slow him down. “What’s going on?”
“There’s no time. The sedative will wear off in a few hours. We need to be far away when that happens.”
“What?” Digging in my heels, I force him into a reluctant halt. “Where are you taking me?”
“Out of here!”
“But they’ll take you out of the auction,” I shout back.
“I don’t care about the auction.” He grabs me by the nape and lowers his face until we’re breathing the same air. “I care about you.” A heavy beat passes. “We’re not coming back, Novalee.”
My mind goes blank, unable to comprehend the meaning behind his words until Sebastian’s face flashes in my head.
He’s still allowed to bid in the auction.
He’ll be back at some point.
But if Liam takes me out of the tower…if he makes it off the island with me…
I might never see Sebastian again.
“I need a second to think.” Pushing him away, I bend over, hands on my thighs as I breathe.
“We don’t have a second.”
Behind me awaits the threat of a monster’s reign, but also the promise of a reunion with Sebastian. In front of me lies an escape route with a man who also loves me.
“I don’t know if I can do this.”
“I worried you might say that.”
Lifting my chin, I glimpse another needle, but the prick of it registers before I even think of fighting him.
“I’m sorry, my sweet girl.” He catches my limp body, his umber eyes locked on my own as the edges of the narrow passageway dim around us.
“Liam…” I groan.
And then there’s only blackness.
THANK YOU FOR READING!
The saga continues! Get your copy here.
Liam Castle has a plan.
Smuggle me onto a cargo ship.
Take me to an undisclosed location.
Declare war on my heart.
* * *
His motives are a mix of honorable and selfish.
He wants to protect me from the monster in the dungeon.
But who’s going to protect me from Liam’s unquenchable desire?
* * *
And who will save us both from the consequences when his plan fails?
Because you can run from a monster, but you can’t hide forever.
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Playlist
1. “Meet Me in the Woods” Lord Huron
2. “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” by Cary Brothers
3. “I Am the Fire” by Ghost Monroe
4. “Run Baby Run” by The Rigs
5. “Soldier” by Alexiane
6. “Lovers Death” by Ursine Vulpine, Annaca
7. “Walk Through the Fire” by Zayde Wolf, Ruelle
8. “Start a War” by Klergy, Valerie Broussard
9. “You Should See Me in a Crown” by Billie Eilish
10. “Fear” by Sarah McLachlan
11. “Arcade” by Duncan Laurence, FLETCHER
12. “Exile” by Taylor Swift, Bon Iver
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Click here to check out the full series playlist on Spotify!
Gemma James is a USA Today bestselling author of sexy contemporary and dark romance. She loves to explore the darker side of human nature in her fiction, and she’s morbidly curious about anything dark and edgy, from deviant seduction to fascinating villains. Readers have described her stories as being “not for the faint of heart.”
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She warns you to heed their words! Her playground isn’t full of rainbows and kittens, though she loves both. She lives in Oregon with her husband and children, a gaggle of animals, and bipolar weather. You can connect with her online at the following places:
Visit Gemma’s website
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Gemma James, The Zodiac Queen
